David Ginola announces his intention to stand for the Fifa presidency

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/16/david-ginola-fifa-presidency

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The former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United midfielder David Ginola has announced his intention to stand for the Fifa presidency.

The 47-year-old Frenchman will challenge the incumbent Sepp Blatter for the top job in world football, with the 78-year-old Swiss – who has been in office since 1998 – having indicated he will seek a fifth term.

Earlier this month Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, a member of Fifa’s executive committee and a vice-president of football’s world governing body, announced he would stand against Blatter at the Fifa Congress in May. The former Fifa deputy secretary general, Jérôme Champagne, also insists he remains intent on running for office.

It is unclear whether Ginola, who first moved to the Premier League with Newcastle from Paris Saint-Germain in 1995 and played in England for a further seven years, will fulfil the criteria as a Fifa candidate. He will need the backing of at least five national associations and will have to demonstrate active involvement in football administration for at least two of the last five years.

Related: Why Fifa changed their election rules after I stood to be their president

Ginola is inviting members of the public and other organisations to join Team Ginola in a bid to challenge Blatter for the presidency. His bid has the backing of pressure group ChangeFifa, which has long campaigned for new leadership at the top of an organisation that has faced numerous allegations of corruption. The bid is also supported by a bookmaker.

Ginola said in a video posted on the teamginola.com website: “I’m standing because, like you, I love football. Whether you are on the terraces or on the pitch we all know that the Fifa system isn’t working. The game needs to change, but I can’t change it on my own.

“I need you to stand up and change it with me. I need you in my team. By joining Team Ginola you are saying yes to a Fifa built on democracy, transparency and equality. You are saying ‘yes’ to a Fifa which cares about one thing – football.”